Semiconductor device and substrate

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device of the invention include a rectangular semiconductor element mounted on a substrate formed with an external input terminal, an external output terminal, and a plurality of wiring patterns connected to each of the external input terminal and the external output terminal. The semiconductor element comprises, a plurality of first electrodes formed along a first edge of a surface thereof, a plurality of second electrodes formed along an edge opposite to the first edge of the surface, a plurality of third electrodes formed in the neighborhood of a functional block, and an internal wiring for connecting the first electrodes and the third electrodes. The substrate comprises, a first wiring pattern for connecting the external input terminal and the first electrodes, a second wiring pattern for connecting the external output terminal and the second electrodes, and a third wiring pattern for connecting the first electrodes and the third electrodes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional Application of application Ser. No.12/049,417, filed Mar. 17, 2008, which claims priority under 35 USC 119from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-226812, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a substrate.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a driver to be incorporated in a liquid crystal displaytakes the form of a semiconductor element mounted on the display byenclosing it on a substrate constituted by tape. In a recent displaydriver, a D-A converter for converting a digital signal into an analogsignal occupies a large percentage of the surface area of asemiconductor element as a result of the trend toward greater numbers ofgrayscale levels. Further, the trend toward displays having a largersize and displays incorporating a smaller number of drivers has resultedin some situations where output terminals of a quantity in excess of 720are required per driver. In order to satisfy such a requirement, inrecent drivers, a large number of wiring regions must be provided in asemiconductor element, which results in the problem that thesemiconductor element will have a particularly large surface area.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-80167 addresses theproblem of the increased amount of wiring in semiconductor elements and,specifically, the problem of the need to route wiring from an electricalcircuit in a semiconductor element to bumps in order to extract signalsfrom the electrical circuit. To achieve reductions in the size andweight of a semiconductor device, the document discloses a technique forconnecting semiconductor element surface bumps, which serve as outputsof an electrical circuit, provided at the middle of a semiconductorelement to bumps provided at a peripheral part of the semiconductorelement using a wiring pattern provided on a substrate.

This technique makes it possible to connect a circuit in a semiconductorelement to a wiring pattern using connection wirings. Since theconnection wirings can be substituted for wirings which have been routedon or under a surface of the element, the size and weight of thesemiconductor element can be reduced.

The technique disclosed in the above document allows a reduction in theamount of wiring required for output from an electrical circuit. In thecase of a driver for a display, however, close attention must be paid tovariations in output AC characteristics between output terminals, and itis particularly important to supply power evenly from a power supply tooutput units in the semiconductor element. For this reason, a powersupply wiring and a ground wiring which is wired throughout thesemiconductor element must be made thick enough to achieve lowimpedance, and the surface area of the semiconductor device isconsequently increased. Therefore, reductions in the size and weight ofa semiconductor element must be achieved in consideration to theabove-described problems.

A driver for a display is manufactured in accordance with the layout ofpins for the display (display panel) in which the driver is mounted, andthe layout of pins on the semiconductor element and the layout of pinson the display does not necessarily correspond. In such a case,significant changes must be made to the existing semiconductor element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstancesand provides a semiconductor device and a substrate, which can be madecompact and designed efficiently while maintaining the performance of asemiconductor element; in particular, the power supply capability of theelement sufficiently.

A first aspect of the present invention provides a semiconductor devicehaving a rectangular semiconductor element mounted on a substrate formedwith an external input terminal, an external output terminal, and aplurality of wiring patterns connected to each of the external inputterminal and the external output terminal. The semiconductor elementincludes a plurality of first electrodes formed along a first edge of asurface thereof, a plurality of second electrodes formed along an edgeopposite to the first edge of the surface, a plurality of thirdelectrodes formed in the neighborhood of a functional block, and aninternal wiring for connecting the first electrodes and the thirdelectrodes. The substrate includes a first wiring pattern for connectingthe external input terminal and the first electrodes, a second wiringpattern for connecting the external output terminal and the secondelectrodes, and a third wiring pattern for connecting the firstelectrodes and the third electrodes.

The wording “the neighborhood of a functional block” means a position inwhich the functional block is closest to the third electrodes amongfunctional blocks provided at the semiconductor element.

As thus described, in the semiconductor device of the first aspect ofthe invention, the third electrodes are provided in the neighborhood ofa functional block of the semiconductor element in addition to the firstand second electrodes which are provided also in the related art, andthe third wiring pattern for connecting the first and third electrodesis provided on the substrate. Thus, functional blocks can be evenlysupplied with power and, in particular, the third electrodes areprovided in the neighborhood of a functional block, which must have highaccuracy, and variation of characteristics as a display driver can besuppressed when the device is used as a display driver without deletingany internal wiring of the semiconductor element. Therefore, since thereis no need for various adjustments to cope with variations incharacteristics, design can be expedited efficiently.

A second aspect of the invention provides a substrate having arectangular mounting region for mounting a semiconductor element and anon-mounting region defined around the mounting region, the substrateincluding an external input terminal provided in the non-mountingregion, an external output terminal provided in the non-mounting region,a first connection node provided along a first edge of the mountingregion, a second connection node provided along an edge of the mountingregion opposite to the first edge, a third connection node provided atan inner side of the first connection node and the second connectionnode, a first wiring pattern for connecting the external input terminaland the first connection node, a second wiring pattern for connectingthe external output terminal and the second connection node, and a thirdwiring pattern for connecting the first connection node and the thirdconnection node.

Since the substrate in the second aspect of the invention can be used inthe same manner as the substrate in the first aspect, the substrate canbe used in combination with the semiconductor element in the firstaspect of the invention to provide the same advantages as those of thefirst aspect of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a general configuration of a semiconductordevice according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a configuration of a part of thesemiconductor device according to the first embodiment associated with aground wiring;

FIG. 2B is a plan view showing a configuration of a part of thesemiconductor device according to the first embodiment associated with apower supply wiring;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a general configuration of a semiconductordevice according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4A is a plan view showing a configuration of a part of thesemiconductor device according to the second embodiment associated witha ground wiring;

FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a configuration of a part of thesemiconductor device according to the second embodiment associated witha power supply wiring;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a general configuration of a semiconductordevice according to a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a configuration of a part of thesemiconductor device according to the third embodiment associated with aground wiring;

FIG. 6B is a plan view showing a configuration of a part of thesemiconductor device according to the third embodiment associated with apower supply wiring;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of asemiconductor device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a detailed configuration of thesemiconductor device according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a modification of the semiconductor deviceaccording to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of anther modification of the semiconductordevice according to the fourth embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an example of a combination of aplurality of the embodiments of a semiconductor device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail withreference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B show a configuration of a semiconductor device 10Aaccording to the present embodiment which is fabricated as a displaydriver using the COF (Chip-On-Film) method. FIG. 1 is a plan viewshowing the configuration of the semiconductor device 10A. FIG. 2A is aplan view showing a configuration of a part of the semiconductor device10A associated with a ground wiring of the same. FIG. 2B is a plan viewshowing a configuration of a part of the semiconductor device 10Aassociated with a power supply wiring of the same.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, the semiconductor device 10A includes asemiconductor element 12 configured as an IC (integrated circuit) chipand an insulating film 18 constituted by a film (tape) serving as asubstrate, and the device is formed by mounting the semiconductorelement 12 on the insulating film 18.

The substantially rectangular semiconductor element 12 has groundterminal electrodes (aluminum pads) 14 a which are electrodes forinputting a ground level formed along a first edge of a surface of thesemiconductor element 12, Au (gold) bumps 16 a provided on surfaces ofthe ground terminal electrodes 14 a, power supply terminal electrodes(aluminum pads) 14 b which are electrodes for power supply input formedalong the first edge of the semiconductor element 12, and Au bumps 16 bprovided on surfaces of the power supply electrodes 14 b. The groundterminal electrodes 14 a and the power supply terminal electrodes 14 bare referred to using a general term “first electrodes 14”. Thesemiconductor element 12 also has driver output terminal electrodes(aluminum pads) 25 which are electrodes for outputting signals formedalong an edge opposite to the first edge of the semiconductor element12, Au bumps 26 provided on surfaces of the driver output terminalelectrodes 25, a semiconductor element internal ground wiring 28 a, asemiconductor element internal power supply wiring 28 b, andsemiconductor element internal output units 30A to 30D which are formedalong the edge opposite to the first edge and output respectivepredetermined signals for driving the display. The semiconductor elementinternal ground wiring 28 a and the semiconductor element internal powersupply wiring 28 b are referred to using a general term “internal powersupply wirings 28. The driver output terminal electrodes 25 are alsoreferred to as “second electrodes 25”. The semiconductor elementinternal ground wiring 28 a and the semiconductor element internal powersupply wiring 28 b are provided throughout the semiconductor element 12,and they extend along the edge opposite to the first edge in theneighborhood of semiconductor element internal output units 30.

The insulating film 18 has a mounting region which is defined to allowthe semiconductor element 12 to be mounted and a non-mounting regionwhich is defined around the mounting region. Since the semiconductorelement 12 is rectangular, the mounting region defined thereon is alsorectangular. Particularly, when the element is a driver IC, it has arectangular shape in most cases, and the direction of the longer sidesof the element is therefore defined to be the longitudinal directionthereof.

In the non-mounting region of the insulating film 18, input side outerleads (external input terminals) 22 are formed to allow signals from acontrol IC (e.g., a timing controller) for controlling the driver IC tobe input, and output side outer leads (external output terminals) 24 arealso formed such that they are mounted in a display (LCD panel or thelike) to allow signals to be output to the same.

In the mounting region of the insulating film 18, first connection nodes19 a, second connection nodes 20 a, and third connection nodes 54 a areformed.

The first connection nodes 19 a are provided along the first edge whichis defined in the rectangular mounting region. The second connectionnodes 20 a are provided along the edge opposite to the first edge.Further, the third connection nodes 54 a are provided in the mountingregion at an inner side of the first connection nodes 19 a and thesecond connection nodes 20 a. In the present embodiment, it may bestated that the third connection nodes 54 a is formed in theneighborhood of the second connection nodes 20 a.

Further, metal wiring patterns (first to third connection patterns) 19,20, and 54 are formed on the insulating film 18. The metal wiringpatterns 19 connect the first connection nodes 19 a and the input sideouter leads 22. The metal wiring patterns 20 connect the secondconnection nodes 20 a and the output side outer leads 24. The metalwiring patterns 54 connect the first connection nodes 19 a and the thirdconnection nodes 54 a. The outer leads, the metal wiring patterns, andthe connection nodes are integrally formed as occasion demands.

The Au bumps 16 a, 16 b, and 26 are provided on the electrodes 14 a, 14b, and 26 b which are provided along the periphery of the semiconductorelement 12. When the semiconductor element 12 is mounted on theinsulating film 18, the Au bumps 16 a and 16 b are electricallyconnected to the input side outer leads 22 through the metal wiringpatterns 19 and the first connection nodes 19 a provided at parts of themetal wiring patterns 19, and the Au bumps 26 are electrically connectedto the output side outer leads 24 through the metal wiring patterns 20and the second connection nodes 20 provided at parts of the metal wiringpatterns 20. The first connection nodes 19 a are electrically connectedto the Au bumps provided on the semiconductor element 12 and theterminal electrodes where the Au bumps are provided as thus described.Therefore, the connection nodes are formed in the mounting region andare electrically connected to the semiconductor element internal groundwiring 28 a or the semiconductor element internal power supply wiring 28b.

The terminal electrode provided under each Au bump of the semiconductorelement 12 is electrically connected to an internal circuit of thesemiconductor element 12 through an internal wiring of the semiconductorelement 12.

The ground terminal electrodes 14 a and the power supply terminalelectrodes 14 b are electrically connected to the semiconductor elementinternal ground wiring 28 a and the semiconductor element internal powersupply wiring 28 b, respectively. As a result, the semiconductor elementinternal ground wiring 28 a and the semiconductor element internal powersupply wiring 28 b are electrically connected to the input side outerleads 22 through the first connection nodes 20 a and the metal wiringpatterns 20.

Signals are input to the semiconductor device 10A through the input sideouter leads 22 and are subjected to predetermined conversion in thesemiconductor element 12, and the converted signals are output throughthe output side outer leads 24. In order to avoid confusion, FIGS. 1,2A, and 2B show only the semiconductor element internal output units 30Ato 30D among internal circuits (functional blocks) of the semiconductorelement 12, and other internal circuits (such as a logic unit, a levelconversion unit, a latch unit, a D-A conversion unit, and a grayscalevoltage generating unit) are omitted in the figures.

In general, the semiconductor element internal output units 30A to 30Dinclude operational amplifiers as primary components. The output unitsmay be hereinafter referred to using a general term “semiconductorelement internal output units 30”, and the semiconductor elementinternal output units 30 will now be described.

In general, the semiconductor element internal output unit 30 isprovided with operational amplifiers in a quantity equal to or largerthan the number of the driver output terminal electrodes 25 associatedwith the unit. Since there are a great number of driver output terminalelectrodes 25, several divisions or blocks such as the semiconductorelement internal output units 30A to 30D are provided for reasonsassociated with designing. In the case of a driver IC having outputs tobe provided over 720 channels, since the element has four divisions,operational amplifiers corresponding to 180 channels are provided at thesemiconductor element internal output unit 30A. When positive andnegative electrodes are to be driven by separate operational amplifiers,operational amplifiers may be formed in a quantity which is severaltimes the number of channels. In this case, the set of operationalamplifiers is represented as one output unit. The semiconductor elementinternal output units 30 are provided in the neighborhood of the driveroutput terminal electrodes 25.

The semiconductor element internal output unit 30B and the semiconductorelement internal output unit 30C are spaced from each other at adistance larger than distances between other combinations of thesemiconductor element internal output units 30, and various functionalblocks including a grayscale voltage generation circuit are disposed inthe space.

The semiconductor element 12 of the present embodiment includes theground terminal electrodes 52 a and the power supply terminal electrodes52 b which are formed on a surface of the element and in theneighborhood of the semiconductor element internal output units 30A to30D. Semiconductor element surface Au bumps 50 a for grounding areformed on the ground terminal electrodes 52 a, and semiconductor elementsurface Au bumps 50 b for power supply are formed on the power supplyterminal electrodes 52 b. The ground terminal electrodes 52 a and thepower supply terminal electrodes 52 b may be hereinafter referred tousing a general term “third electrodes 52”. The wording “in theneighborhood of the semiconductor element internal output units” meansthat the electrodes are in positions where the functional blocks nearestto the electrodes are the semiconductor element internal output units orthat the electrodes are located around the semiconductor elementinternal output units.

It may be alternatively put that the third electrodes 52 are provided inthe neighborhood of the driver output terminal electrodes 25. In otherwords, the third electrodes 52 are provided around the semiconductorelement internal output units 30. The third electrodes 52 mayalternatively be provided between the blocks constituted by thesemiconductor element internal output unit 30A and the semiconductorelement internal output unit 30B. It is preferable to provide aplurality of the third electrodes 52. Common connection is providedbetween the plurality of third electrodes 52, i.e., between the groundterminal electrodes 52 a or between the power supply terminal electrodes52 b by the respective metal wiring patterns 54. A plurality of thethird electrodes 52 are provided at positions such as a central part ofthe semiconductor element 12, the gaps between the blocks constituted bythe output units 30, and the neighborhood of the side edges of thesurface of the semiconductor element 12, the side edges being theshorter sides of the surface. The third electrodes are preferablyprovided on each of the left and right longitudinal ends of thesemiconductor element 12.

The metal wiring patterns 54 connected to common as described aboveinclude parts which are disposed to extend straightly in thelongitudinal direction of the element. The metal wiring pattern 54 forcommon connection between the ground terminal electrodes 52 a and themetal wiring pattern 54 for common connection between the power supplyterminal electrodes 52 b are disposed so as to sandwich thesemiconductor element internal output units 30. In other words, theoutput units 30 are located at intervals between the metal wiringpattern 54 for common connection between the ground terminal electrodes52 a and the metal wiring pattern 54 for common connection between thepower supply terminal electrodes 52 b. Further, the metal wiringpatterns 54 used for common connection are disposed in the neighborhoodof the semiconductor element internal ground wiring 28 a and thesemiconductor element internal power supply wiring 28 b. Thesemiconductor element internal ground wiring 28 a and the semiconductorelement internal power supply wiring 28 b are also provided to extend inthe longitudinal direction of the element.

The plural ground terminal electrode 14 a and the plural power supplyterminal electrode 14 b, which are the first electrodes, are providedalong the first side of the semiconductor element 12. In other words, inthe longitudinal direction, the ground terminal electrode 14 a and thepower supply terminal electrode 14 b are respectively provided on theleft and right portions divided along the first side. Here, the powersupply terminal electrodes 14 b are disposed closer to the center thanthe ground terminal electrodes 14 a. Also, the metal wiring patterns 54connected to the power supply terminal electrodes 14 b are connected tothe metal wiring pattern 54 for common connection between the powersupply terminal electrodes 52 b via the vicinity of the center portionof the semiconductor element 12.

The ground terminal electrodes 14 a and the ground terminal electrodes52 a are connected by the semiconductor element internal ground wiring28 a, and the power supply terminal electrodes 14 b and the power supplyterminal electrodes 52 b are connected by the semiconductor elementinternal power supply wiring 28 b.

The insulating film 18 includes metal wiring patterns 54 formed thereonfor electrically connecting the Au bumps 16 a of the semiconductorelement 12 and the semiconductor element surface Au bumps 50 a forgrounding and for electrically connecting the Au bumps 16 a and thesemiconductor element surface Au bumps 50 b for power supply when thesemiconductor element 12 is mounted on the film. Therefore, when thesemiconductor element 12 is mounted on the insulating film 18, the thirdconnection nodes 54 a provided at parts of the metal wiring patterns 54is electrically connected to the ground terminal electrodes 52 a or thepower supply electrode terminals 52 b. As a result, electricalconnection is established between the ground terminal electrodes 14 aand the ground terminal electrodes 52 a and between the power supplyterminal electrodes 14 b and the power supply terminal electrodes 52 b.In general, since the metal wiring patterns 54 are formed from aconductive material having a relatively high electrical conductivitysuch as Cu (copper), resistance provided by the metal wiring patterns 54is much smaller than that provided by aluminum formed at an inner sideof the semiconductor element.

The manufacture of the semiconductor device 10A of the presentembodiment will not be described because it can be manufactured usingtechniques known in the related art including the techniques disclosedin Patent Document 1 by way of example.

In the present embodiment, as thus described, the third electrodes 52are disposed in the neighborhood of the functional blocks of thesemiconductor element 12; the metal wiring patterns 19 and the metalwiring patterns 54 are provided in connection with the input side outerleads 22 provided on the insulating film 18 serving as a substrate; andthe metal wiring patterns 54 and the third electrodes 52 are connected.Thus, power can be evenly supplied to the functional blocks. Inparticular, the third electrodes 52 are disposed in the neighborhood ofthe semiconductor element internal output units 30 which must have highaccuracy, and the third electrodes 52 and the internal power supplywirings 28 are connected. It is therefore possible to maintain paths forsupplying power from the first electrodes 14 to the output units 30through the internal power supply wirings 28 and paths for supplyingpower from the third electrodes 52 to the output units 30 through theinternal power supply wirings 28. Even when the area occupied by theinternal power supply wirings 28 is reduced, resistance can be keptsubstantially unchanged or reduced. Thus, the semiconductor element 12can be provided with a small surface area by keeping the area of theinternal power wirings 28 small, and the performance of thesemiconductor element 12 can be satisfactorily kept. The amount of heatgenerated can be kept small by a substantial reduction in the resistanceof the internal power supply wirings 28.

Since the power supply wirings in the semiconductor element 12 are usedwithout any deletion to achieve the above-described effect, it ispossible to suppress any variation in characteristics which canotherwise occur when the element is used as a display driver. Thus,there is no need for various adjustments which are otherwise required tocope with such variation in characteristics, which allows designing tobe efficiently carried out.

The metal wiring patterns 54 connected to the power supply terminalelectrodes 52 b are disposed in the neighborhood of the driver outputterminal electrodes 25 and also in the neighborhood of the semiconductorelement internal output units 30, fluctuation of the power supplyvoltage can be suppressed more efficiently. The above-described featureis provided at each of the left and right sides of the semiconductorelement 12, and the features are connected to common to allow theresistance of the internal power supply wirings 28 to be reducedfurther, which enhances the effect of supplying electric power evenly.The present mode for carrying out the invention is made possible byproviding the metal wiring patterns 54 so as to extend through thecentral part of the semiconductor element 12. Further, since the thirdelectrodes 52 are provided in the neighborhood of the semiconductorelement internal output units 30 and are connected to each other by themetal wiring patterns 54, the electrodes are expected to play the roleof conducting heat from the semiconductor element internal output units30 which are a source of an especially large amount of heat.

The use of the insulating film 18 having the configuration in thepresent embodiment allows designing to be carried out efficiently.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B show a configuration of a semiconductor device 10Baccording to a second embodiment of the invention fabricated as adisplay driver using the COF method. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing theconfiguration of the semiconductor device 10B. FIG. 4A is a plan viewshowing a configuration of a part of the semiconductor device 10Bassociated with a ground wiring of the same. FIG. 4B is a plan viewshowing a configuration of a part of the semiconductor device 10Bassociated with a power supply wiring of the same. Components identicalbetween FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B and FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B are indicated by referencenumerals used in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B and will not be described here.

The semiconductor element 10B has a first connection terminal 62 a and asecond connection terminal 62 b which are electrodes for signal inputformed along a first edge of a semiconductor element 12, an Au (gold)bump 60 a provided on a surface of the first connection terminal 62 a,and an Au (gold) bump 60 b provided on a surface of the secondconnection terminal 62 b. The first connection terminal 62 a and thesecond connection terminal 62 b are provided in the neighborhood ofpower supply terminal electrodes 14 b.

Connection nodes 54 b for signal input are formed in a mounting regionon an insulating film 18. The connection nodes 54 b for signal input areprovided along the first edge of the element.

Further, metal wiring patterns 19 and metal wiring patterns 54 forconnecting the connection nodes 54 b for signal input and outer leads 22for input are formed on the insulating film 18. The input outer leads22, the metal wiring patterns, and the connection nodes 54 b for signalinput may be integrally formed as occasion demands.

The Au bump 60 a and the Au bump 60 b are provided on the firstconnection terminal 62 a and the second connection terminal 62 bprovided along the periphery of the semiconductor element 12. When thesemiconductor element 12 is mounted on the insulating film 18, the bumpsare electrically connected to the input side outer leads 22 through themetal wiring patterns 19, the metal wiring patterns 54, and theconnection nodes 54 b for signal input provided at parts of the metalwiring patterns 54. As thus described, the connection nodes 54 b forsignal input are electrically connected to the Au bumps 60 a and 60 bprovided at the semiconductor element 12 and the first connectionterminal 62 a and the second connection terminal 62 b on which the Aubumps are provided, and the connection nodes are therefore formed in themounting region.

In the semiconductor element 12, the first connection terminal 62 a andthe second connection terminal 62 b provided under the An bumps 60 a and60 b, respectively are electrically connected to internal circuits ofthe semiconductor element 12 through internal wirings of thesemiconductor element 12.

In the semiconductor device 10B, metal wiring pattern 19 and metalwiring pattern 54 (hereinafter referred to as “left side input signalwiring patterns”) for connecting the connection nodes 54 b for signalinput and the input outer leads 22, the first connection terminal 62 a,ground terminal electrodes 52 a, and power supply terminal electrodes 52b are disposed on the left side of a central part of the semiconductorelement when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the element. Metalwiring pattern 19 and metal wiring pattern 54 (hereinafter referred toas “right side input signal wiring patterns”) for connecting theconnection nodes 54 b for signal input and the input outer leads 22, thesecond connection terminal 62 a, ground terminal electrodes 52 a, andpower supply terminal electrodes 52 b are disposed on the right side ofthe central part of the semiconductor element in the longitudinaldirection thereof.

On the insulating film 18, the left side input signal wiring patternsand the metal wiring patterns connecting the input outer leads 22 andthe ground terminal electrode 14 a and the power supply terminalelectrode 14 b located on the left side of the element in thelongitudinal direction thereof are disposed in line with each other, andthe left side input signal wiring patterns are disposed outside (on theleft of) the metal wiring patterns connecting the input outer leads 22with the ground terminal electrode 14 a and the power supply terminalelectrode 14 b located on the left side of the element in thelongitudinal direction thereof. The right side input signal wiringpatterns and the metal wiring patterns connecting the input outer leads22 and the ground terminal electrode 14 a and the power supply terminalelectrode 14 b located on the right side of the element in thelongitudinal direction thereof are disposed in line with each other, andthe right side input signal wiring patterns are disposed outside (on theright of) the metal wiring patterns connecting the input outer leads 22with the ground terminal electrode 14 a and the power supply terminalelectrode 14 b located on the right side of the element in thelongitudinal direction thereof.

Both of the first connection terminal 62 a and the second connectionterminal 62 b are disposed on the first edge closer to the central partthan the ground terminal electrode 14 a and the power supply terminalelectrode 14 b are. The left side input signal wiring patterns aredisposed outside (on the left of) the ground terminal electrode 14 a andthe power supply terminal electrode 14 b on the left side of the elementin the longitudinal direction thereof with respect to the first edge.The right side input signal wiring patterns are disposed outside (on theright of) the ground terminal electrode 14 a and the power supplyterminal electrode 14 b on the right side of the element in thelongitudinal direction thereof with respect to the first edge.

On the insulating film 18, the metal wiring pattern connecting theground terminal electrode 14 a and the ground terminal electrode 52 a onthe left side of the element in the longitudinal direction thereof(hereinafter referred to as “left side ground wiring pattern”) and themetal wiring pattern connecting the power supply terminal electrode 14 band the power supply terminal electrode 52 b on the left side of theelement in the longitudinal direction thereof (hereinafter referred toas “left side power supply wiring pattern”) are disposed so as to detouraround the left side input signal wiring patterns. The metal wiringpattern connecting the ground terminal electrode 14 a and the groundterminal electrode 52 a on the right side of the element in thelongitudinal direction thereof (hereinafter referred to as “right sideground wiring pattern”) and the metal wiring pattern connecting thepower supply terminal electrode 14 b and the power supply terminalelectrode 52 b on the right side of the element in the longitudinaldirection thereof (hereinafter referred to as “right side power supplywiring pattern”) are disposed so as to detour around the right sideinput signal wiring patterns.

On the insulation film 18, adjustment is made to make impedance providedby the left side ground wiring pattern and the left side power supplywiring pattern and impedance provided by the right side ground wiringpattern and the right side power supply wiring pattern equal to eachother.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4B, the metal wiring pattern 19 and the metalwiring pattern 54 constituting the left side power supply wiring patternand the metal wiring pattern 19 and the metal wiring pattern 54constituting the right side power supply wiring pattern are integrallyformed in part and are connected to the power supply terminal electrodes52 b through the non-mounting region.

In addition to the advantage of the first embodiment, when theconfiguration of the present embodiment as thus described is used, anydifference between the pin layout of an existing driver IC and the pinlayout of a panel to which the IC is to be mounted can be handled bydesigning the substrate appropriately. In other words, the time requiredfor designing the layout of the semiconductor element 12 can be mademuch shorter than that required in the related art. In particular, theleft side ground wiring pattern and the left side power supply wiringpattern detour around the first connection terminal 62 a and the leftside input signal wiring patterns, and the right side ground wiringpattern and the right side power supply wiring pattern detour around thesecond connection terminal 62 b and the right side input signal wiringpatterns. Thus, connection can be established between the groundterminal electrodes 52 a and the power supply terminal electrodes 52 b.Since impedance provided by the left side ground wiring pattern and theleft side power supply wiring pattern and impedance provided by theright side ground wiring pattern and the right side power supply wiringpattern are made equal, power can be evenly supplied to the left andright sides of the semiconductor element 12 to allow a further reductionof variation in power between pins.

Third Embodiment

FIGS. 5, 6A, and 6B show a configuration of a semiconductor device 10Caccording to a third embodiment of the invention fabricated as a displaydriver using the COF method. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing theconfiguration of the semiconductor device 10C. FIG. 6A is a plan viewshowing a configuration of a part of the semiconductor device 10Cassociated with a ground wiring of the same. FIG. 6B is a plan viewshowing a configuration of a part of the semiconductor device 10Cassociated with a power supply wiring of the same. Components identicalbetween FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B and FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B are indicated by referencenumerals used in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B and will not be described here.

In the semiconductor device 10C of the present embodiment, groundterminal electrodes 14 a and power supply terminal electrodes 14 b arealternately disposed along a first edge of the same. Specifically, theground terminal electrodes 14 a and the power supply terminal electrodes14 b are disposed to form pairs of adjoining electrodes. Let us assumethat a ground terminal electrode 14 a and a power supply terminalelectrode 14 b disposed adjacent to each other constitute one powersupply electrode pair 15. Then, two power supply electrode pairs 15 aredisposed on each of the left and right sides of a central part of thefirst edge. Referring to the disposition of each set of ground terminalelectrode 14 a and power supply terminal electrode 14 b, the powersupply terminal electrode 14 b is located closer to the central part ofthe first edge than the ground terminal electrode 14 a is. Anotherelectrode may be formed between each of the two power supply electrodepairs 15 on the left and right sides. For example, an electrode to whicha reference voltage is input may be formed.

On an insulating film 18 of the present embodiment, a metal wiringpattern for connecting the ground terminal electrodes 14 a and groundterminal electrodes 52 a is disposed so as to surround the peripheriesof semiconductor element internal output units 30, and a metal wiringpattern for connecting the power supply terminal electrodes 14 b andpower supply electrode terminals 52 b is disposed so as to surround theperipheries of the semiconductor element internal output units 30.Specifically, each of the metal wiring patterns is formed by three partsin the left and right sides of a semiconductor element 12 in thelongitudinal direction thereof. The left part of the semiconductorelement 12 will be described by way of example. The metal wiring patternin this part is a metal wiring pattern 54 having a first part 31 formedbetween second electrodes 25 and third electrodes 52 and in theneighborhood of the second electrodes 25 so as to straightly extend inthe longitudinal direction of the element, a second part 32 connectingthe ground terminal electrode 14 a of one of the two power supplyelectrode pairs 15 disposed on the left side of the semiconductorelement 12 in the longitudinal direction thereof, the electrode pair 15being closer to a central part 17 of the first edge than the other, tothe first part 31 by extending through the central part 17 of thesemiconductor element 12, and a third part 33 connecting the groundterminal electrode 14 a of the other of the two power supply electrodepairs 15 disposed on the left side of the semiconductor element 12 inthe longitudinal direction thereof to the first part 31 by extendingfrom the mounting region through the non-mounting region. The first,second, and third parts are disposed to surround the peripheries of theoutput units 30 when combined. The right part of the semiconductorelement 12 has similar three parts, and the left and right first parts31 are connected to common.

In the present embodiment, the same advantages as in the firstembodiment can be achieved even in the case of a pin layout in which twopower supply electrode pairs are provided on each of the left and rightsides of the semiconductor element 12. The metal wiring patternsconnecting the ground terminal electrodes 14 a and the ground terminalelectrodes 52 a are disposed to surround the peripheries of thesemiconductor element internal output units 30, and the metal wiringpatterns connecting the power supply terminal electrodes 14 b and thepower supply terminal electrodes 52 b are also disposed to surround theperipheries of the semiconductor element internal output units 30.Therefore, power can be evenly supplied, and a further reduction can beachieved in variation of power between pins.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 7 shows a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device 10Daccording to a fourth embodiment of the invention fabricated as adisplay driver using the COF method. Components identical between FIG. 7and FIG. 1 are indicated by reference numerals used in FIG. 1 and willnot be described here.

As shown in FIG. 7, the semiconductor device 10D of the presentembodiment has a voltage generating unit 90 which is providedsubstantially in the middle of a semiconductor element 12 when viewed inthe longitudinal direction of the element.

The voltage generating unit 90 generates a plurality of grayscalevoltages by dividing a reference voltage applied through input sideouter leads 22, a connection pattern 21 for a resistance ladder, and ametal pattern 54 using the resistance ladder.

In the semiconductor device 10D of the present embodiment, a terminalelectrode is provided in the neighborhood of the resistance ladderinstead of providing a terminal electrode for the resistance ladder in aperipheral part of the semiconductor element 12. The terminal electrodeand the input side outer leads 22 are directly connected to aninsulating film 18 through the connection pattern 21 for the resistanceladder and the metal pattern 54. Thus, the semiconductor element 12 canbe provided with a size smaller than that in the case that the terminalelectrode for the resistance ladder is provided at a peripheral part ofthe semiconductor element 12.

Each of decoders 31A to 31D shown in FIG. 7 is associated with any ofsemiconductor element internal output units 30A to 30D in a one-to-onerelationship, and the decoders generate signals to be used by therespective semiconductor element internal output units using grayscalevoltages generated by the voltage generating unit 90.

FIG. 8 shows a detailed configuration of the voltage generating unit 90.Components identical between FIG. 8 and FIG. 1 are indicated by thereference numerals used in FIG. 1 and will not be described here.

As shown in FIG. 8, the voltage generating unit 90 includes a resistanceladder 80 which is formed by series-connecting resistors 80 a, 80 b, 80c, and 80 d disposed in respective predetermined positions and whichgenerates a grayscale voltage to serve as a reference for an outputvoltage to be output from the semiconductor element 12 to a display.

The voltage generating unit 90 includes five resistance ladderelectrodes 82 a, 82 b, 82 c, 82 d, and 82 e formed in the neighborhoodof the resistance ladder 80. The voltage generating unit 90 alsoincludes semiconductor element internal wirings 86 for connecting theresistance ladder electrode 82 a and the resistance ladder electrode 82e with the ends of the series connection of the resistance ladder 80 andincludes a semiconductor element internal wiring 88 for connecting theresistance ladder electrodes 82 b to 82 d with intermediate connectingparts of the series connection of the resistance ladder 80. An Au (gold)bump 84 a, an Au bump 84 b, an Au bump 84 c, an Au bump 84 d, and an Aubump 84 e are provided on a surface of the resistance ladder electrode82 a, a surface of the resistance ladder electrode 82 b, a surface ofthe resistance ladder electrode 82 c, a surface of the resistance ladder82 d, and a surface of the resistance ladder electrode 82 e,respectively.

The insulating film 18 includes resistance ladder connection nodes 21 awhich are formed in a mounting region and connected to the resistanceladder electrodes 82 a, 82 b, 82 c, 82 d, and 82 d, respectively, andresistance ladder connection patterns 21 and metal wiring patterns 54which are formed to extend from a non-mounting region into the mountingregion for connecting the input side outer leads 22 and the resistanceladder connection nodes 21 a.

Signals are input to the semiconductor device 10D through the input sideouter leads 22 and subjected to predetermined conversion in thesemiconductor element 12, and the converted signals are output throughoutput side outer leads 24. In order to avoid confusion, FIG. 8 showsonly the resistance ladder 80 among circuits in the semiconductorelement 12, and other internal circuits (e.g., a logic unit, a levelconversion unit, a latch unit, a D-A conversion unit, and a grayscalevoltage generating unit) are omitted in the illustration.

As thus described, in the present embodiment, the Au bumps 84 a to 84 eand the resistance ladder electrodes 82 a to 82 e provided under therespective bumps are disposed in the neighborhood of the resistanceladder 80 in connection with the respective resistors, and the metalwiring patterns 54 on the semiconductor element are routed to make adetour such that the state of connection between the input side outerleads 22 and the Au bumps 84 a to 84 e will not be changed. Thus, thephysical distance between the resistance ladder 80 and the Au bumps 84 ato 84 e can be kept small, and the impedance of the semiconductorelement internal wirings 86 and the semiconductor element internalwiring 88 can be made small. As a result, the semiconductor elementinternal wirings 86 and the semiconductor element internal wiring 88 canbe laid to occupy a small area. That is, the surface area of thesemiconductor element 12 can be made small. In other words, a referencevoltage input to the voltage generating unit 90 for generating voltagesto serve as a basis for voltages output by the semiconductor elementinternal output units 30 can be supplied with less fluctuation. Further,the contribution to reduction in the wiring area in the semiconductorelement allows the surface area of the semiconductor element to bereduced.

The invention has been described above with reference to embodiments ofthe same, but the technical scope of the invention is not limited to theabove description of the embodiments. The embodiments may be variouslyaltered or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention,and such alterations and modifications are also included in thetechnical scope of the invention.

The above-described embodiments are not limiting the invention set forthin the appended claims, and not all combinations of the featuresdescribed in the embodiments constitute essential solving means of theinvention. The above-described embodiments include various aspects ofthe invention, and it is therefore possible to extract the variousaspects of the invention by combining the plurality of constituentfeatures disclosed herein appropriately. Even when some of theconstituent features disclosed in the embodiments are deleted, theconfiguration lacking those constituent features can be still extractedas an aspect of the invention as long as it provides the advantages ofthe invention.

For example, the fourth embodiment has been described as a case in whicha semiconductor device 10D as shown in FIG. 8 is used as a semiconductordevice according to the invention by way of example. The invention isnot limited to the same, and the device may be replaced by, for example,a semiconductor device 10E as shown in FIG. 9 or a semiconductor device10F as shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is different from FIGS. 8 and 9 in thatreference voltage input electrodes 83 are provided. It is desirable toexclude the reference voltage input electrodes 83 because the surfacearea of the device can be smaller when there is no need for the area toaccommodate the electrodes 83, and FIG. 10 may be understood as showingthat the possibility of the provision of such electrodes is noteliminated where they are required. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the elementshaving the same functions as those shown in FIG. 8 are given the samereference numerals as in FIG. 8. The same advantages as those of thefourth embodiment can be achieved also in these cases.

Obviously, the first to fourth embodiments may be implemented incombination.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a configuration of a semiconductor devicewhich is a combination of the third and fourth embodiments. AlthoughFIG. 11 shows no tape substrate, it is assumed that all wirings shown inthe figure are formed on a tape substrate.

As shown in FIG. 11, in this exemplary configuration, two voltagegenerating units 90, i.e., a voltage generating unit 90A and a voltagegenerating unit 90B are provided. Details of the voltage generatingunits 90 are as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. A region 92 between the voltagegenerating unit 90A and the voltage generating unit 90B is a regionwhere functional blocks excluding output units 30 and the voltagegenerating units 90 are disposed.

Each of semiconductor element internal output units 30A to 30D outputs agrayscale voltage which has been selected by either P decoderconstituted by a P-channel MOSFET or N decoder constituted by anN-channel MOSFET. The voltage generating unit 90A generates grayscalevoltages to be input to the decoder constituted by a P-channel MOSFET,and the voltage generating unit 90B generates grayscale voltages to beinput to the decoder constituted by an N-channel MOSFET.

In the case of a driver capable of displaying eight bits of data (256grayscales), each of the voltage generating units 90A and 90B generatesvoltages to render 256 grayscales, and nine or eleven reference voltagesare supplied to each unit.

The semiconductor element 12 includes three types of regions providedalong a first edge of the same, i.e., regions 98A having outputelectrode formed therein, regions 98B having input electrodes formedtherein, and regions 98C having no input electrode formed therein. Theregions 98C without input electrode are provided between the inputelectrode regions 98B. Particularly, the regions 98C without inputelectrode are provided between first electrodes (ground terminalelectrodes or power supply terminal electrodes) provided at the inputelectrode regions 98B. In this case, an input side outer lead and anelectrode 82 for a resistance ladder are connected by a metal wiringpattern 54 (VGMA) through a region on the substrate associated with aregion 98C without input electrode.

Metal wiring patterns 54 shown in FIG. 11 have unique shapes. Astructure of a metal wiring pattern 54 (Vdd) connecting power supplyterminal electrodes 14 a and power supply terminal electrodes 52 willnow be particularly described. The metal wiring pattern 54 (Vdd) isconstituted by a common connection unit 94 for connecting each of thepower supply terminal electrodes 52 disposed in the neighborhood of anoutput unit 30 in common and an impedance adjusting unit 96 forconnecting the power supply terminal electrodes 14 a and the commonconnection unit 94 to adjust the impedance of the internal power supplywiring. The impedance adjusting unit 96 is connected to the commonconnection unit 94 at a point close to the power supply terminalelectrode 52 a closest to a corner of the semiconductor element 12instead of connecting them by the shortest route. In other words, thepoint of connection to the common connection unit 94 is made close tothe output unit 30D (or the output unit 30A on the left side of thesemiconductor element 12) among the output units 30 which is located ata longitudinal end of the semiconductor element 12. The use of thisconfiguration allows the supply of power to be kept a higher level ofevenness between the output units 30C and 30D.

The first and fourth embodiments can be implemented in a combined formas shown in FIG. 11 by providing wiring patterns 54 corresponding tothose in the first embodiment using either of the two power supplyelectrode pairs disposed on the left and right sides of thesemiconductor element 12.

Similarly, a plurality of embodiments among the first to thirdembodiments may be implemented in combination. In such a case, thecombined embodiment has all advantages provided by the originalembodiments.

The numbers of various Au bumps shown in the above-described embodimentsare merely examples, and the bumps may obviously be provided indifferent quantities. The same advantages as those of the aboveembodiments can be achieved also in such a case.

Although no particular mention has been made of display apparatus towhich the embodiments apply, the invention can be used for variousdisplays including liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, and organicEL displays.

While the above embodiments have been described as cases wherein Au isused as the material of bumps, other metals may obviously be usedinstead.

The first to third embodiments have been described as cases wherein asemiconductor element internal output unit is divided into four blocks,i.e., semiconductor element internal output units 30A to 30D. Theinvention is not limited to such a configuration, and the output unitmay obviously be divided into a different number of blocks. The sameadvantages as those of the above embodiments can be achieved also insuch a case.

The fourth embodiment has been described as a case wherein a resistanceladder is divided into four blocks. The invention is not limited to sucha configuration, and the resistance ladder may obviously be divided intoa different number of blocks. The same advantages as those of the fourthembodiment can be achieved also in such a case.

A semiconductor device and a substrate according to the invention areadvantageous in that a semiconductor element can be made compact anddesigned efficiently while maintaining the performance of the element,in particular, power supplying capability.

1. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein: the pluralityof first electrodes include a first power supply electrode and a firstground electrode, a plurality of at least either first power supplyelectrodes or first ground electrodes being provided, and the firstpower supply electrode and the first ground electrode are disposedalternately; and the third wiring pattern connects the plurality offirst power supply electrodes or first ground electrodes with the thirdelectrodes, and the third wiring pattern is disposed to surround theperiphery of the functional block.
 2. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 1, wherein the first electrodes and the third wiring patternare disposed on each of left and right sides of the semiconductorelement in the longitudinal direction thereof.
 3. The semiconductordevice according to claim 2, wherein the third wiring patterns disposedon the left and right sides have a common connection.
 4. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein: the first edge hasan input electrode forming region where the plurality of firstelectrodes are formed along the first edge adjacent to each other andoutput electrode forming regions sandwiching the input electrode formingregion; the second electrodes are formed along the first edge in theoutput electrode forming regions; and the second electrodes areconnected to the external output terminal through the second wiringpattern.